A U.S. family was reunited with their beloved dog after the small canine managed to survive being carried away by an eagle.

Monica Newhard said her brother was letting the family’s four dogs, including bichon frise Zoey, out to play in the family’s Bowmanstown yard in Pennsylvania on Tuesday afternoon when the man spotted an eagle that swooped down near the house.

“He’s thinking ‘what beautiful wings’ and then all the sudden he’s going, ‘Oh my god, that’s Zoey!’” Newhard told WFMZ-TV. Newhard said the eagle quickly carried 3.6-kg Zoey out of sight. She said the family was shocked by Zoey’s apparent demise.

“Never crossed my mind that that would ever happen,” she said. “Never were we looking or ever thinking that our dog would be alive. It was dead, you know?”

Zoey’s tale had not yet ended, however, as Christina Hartman spotted an unusual white object in a road about 6.5 km from the Newhard home about two hours after the eagle’s swooping.

“I see a little spot in the road, white spot,” Hartman said. She said she initially thought it was snow, but she soon realized it was a dog.

Hartman took Zoey home and gave her some food and a place to rest. She went online and quickly saw Newhard’s Facebook post about the dog being taken by an eagle. The post, which had been shared by one of Hartman’s friends, included a photo of Zoey.

The family was reunited with their dog Wednesday. Newhard updated her Facebook post with news about Zoey’s safe arrival home. She said a stranger offered her a large crate that would allow the dogs to play outside without fear of attacks from above.